Quinoa, Chickpea & Spinach Salad

This is definitely one that is going to be repeated! A salad that's pretty simple to throw together, yet looks great and tastes even better. Incredibly filling as well.

1 cup quinoa, rinsed, then (perhaps damp rather than dry) toasted in the pot to get a bit of nuttiness into it. Add 2 cups of water to that, let it boil then reduce heat and cover, for about 20 minutes until the water's all absorbed and it's lovely and fluffy. Once it's done, it's into the fridge for a quick cooling (stir a few times to quicken the cooling time).

While that's on the go, the rest can be put into a (very large, to allow you to mix easily) bowl:
1 can of chickpeas, drained
2 rather large handfuls of baby spinach. I cut the leaves in half to make it more manageable (I hate large salad leaves and trying to shove it into my mouth gracefully) and chopped up the stems for some crunch
About half a cucumber, sliced into quarters lengthwise, centres removed so the salad wouldn't get soggy the next day, and then slices
A few cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters and seeds removed (see note about not wanting it to be soggy)
As much feta as you think is a good idea, some in largish chunks and some crumbled
A decent amount of mint leaves, chopped up
A good sprinkling of toasted flaked almonds (or you can just top the salad with this when serving, so it retains the crunch nicely)

When the quinoa is cooled, mix it into the salad.

Time for the dressing. 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1-2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a good few drops of Tabasco Chipotle Sauce. These are mixed together, then mixed into the salad. And toss toss toss. I might make more of the dressing in the future.

Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Tastes great as leftovers the next day too!

Lebanese Aubergine Moussaka

This is something I made last week. Have been out and flying for work, etc, so have only been able to get online now to post this.

I had a huge aubergine and no idea what to make with it this time around, as the other half isn't a fan. I've made eggplant parmesan for him before, and he loved it, but I wanted other options. Started Googling (as you do) can came up with an adapted Nigella Lawson recipe using eggplant: http://www.roamingtales.com/2009/03/08/recipe-lebanese-aubergine-stew/. I had seen a few variations of this, but liked this version, so I decided to follow it with my own twist.

I cubed the eggplant and fried it off in 3 batches (it was really big) in a bit of oil until softened and coloured, and removed from pan. Then I friend off onion, garlic, a bit of giner and chilli in some oil in the pan until onions and garlic we soft, then added chickpeas (from a can, with water drained), and fried it a bit more. I didn't have pomegranate molasses, but I did have some pomegranate cordial. Thought 'what the hell', and put a bit of that in. I then added the aubergine back, some tomato I had previously liquidised and frozen (easier to use that way, and cheaper), and some salt, black pepper, cinnamon, ground ginger, dried mint, and a dash of paprika. Added a cup of water, let it boil, then reduced the heat and let it simmer for the next hour or so while I got on with other things.

I did this the day before we planned to eat it, as it took a long time to get done. When it was done, I spooned it back into the bowl I'd stored the eggplant in, and into the fridge it went. The next day, I heated it up in the  oven (easier) for a while, and served with cous cous.

This made quite a lot; we got 2 days' dinners (huge portions) for 2 out of it. Well worth the effort, as it cuts down on cooking for another day :).

To make the cous cous:
Fry some onions, peppers, chilli, whatever you want in a little bit of oil. Add some mustard seeds too. When ready, pour in 1 cup of water, and bring to the boil. Turn off stove, and add in 1 cup of cous cous. Stir to incorporate and wait for it to absorb and become all fluffy. Done!